


Sparkling Stars and Blue Flowers

by Kawaii_strawberry



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Ambiguous Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, F/M, Fictional Disease, Hanahaki Disease, Hurt/Comfort, Not Actually Unrequited Love, One Shot, Post-Time Skip, Seteth and Flayn Spoilers, Spoilers, hanahaki, its sweet in the end, star tears disease, they both love eachother but dont know it, 星涙病
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25099999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kawaii_strawberry/pseuds/Kawaii_strawberry
Summary: "Byleth had never really cried before, not until somewhat recently. So she never really questioned the way her tears seemed to hurt every time they came out, she just thought that was how it felt for everyone."In which Byleth has Star Tears Disease and Seteth has Hanahaki Disease and neither of them realize it's for the other person
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth & Seteth, My Unit | Byleth/Seteth
Comments: 3
Kudos: 50





	Sparkling Stars and Blue Flowers

Byleth had never really cried before, not until somewhat recently. So she never really questioned the way her tears seemed to hurt every time they came out, she just thought that was how it felt for everyone. In fact, she was glad that she hadn't expressed much emotion in her life before now. She couldn't imagine going through this pain every time she felt sad about something. She was strong on the battlefield, but everyone else must have been so much stronger if they dealt with this feeling so often. It hurt, but she could deal with it. Though she did wish that Sothis were still around to help guide her through these new feelings. 

The pain she felt when she cried wasn't just emotional, but she got this physical sensation. Byleth had heard of other's struggles with their emotions, like some of her students Marianne and Bernadetta who struggled with depression and anxiety. She wondered if they felt this pain so often too. She was glad that she was always alone when she cried like this. She needed to be a strong figure for her students while they were fighting this war. They didn't need to see her struggle or cry or experience this pain. They just needed her to be their strong leader.

Byleth dealt with her painful tears on her own, like she dealt with everything alone. When they came, she would feel this pit in her stomach, almost weighing her down. She would feel the pain in her eyes like tiny daggers as each tear crawled it's way out of her. She would get angry hearing the little twinkling sounds of her tears falling, and the small pile of stars that would collect after she cried. Those were just a physical reminder of what she was going through. As much as she wanted it to be something she only experienced on her own, something that she could hide, there was always some reminder of her new emotions. She wondered what the others did with their stars after they cried. There must be some way to get some kind of use for them. For now, she had just decided to stuff them all into a jar, hidden deep in her room. She couldn't let anyone else know she was weak like that. Sometimes she wished she could go back to how she was before, not feeling anything at all. Not only was she struggling to figure out this emotion, but all of her other new emotions as well. But other times she wished that she had experienced these emotions throughout her life. Maybe if she had grown up with emotions the whole time it wouldn't feel as strong as it did now? None of it made sense to her and she couldn't let herself ask for guidance or help. So she was alone with just herself and all of her emotions that she still didn't understand. 

\------

Byleth shoved the jar of colorful sparkling stars into her closet. She stood up straight, looking at herself in a small mirror. Maybe she just wasn't used to her new appearance since merging with Sothis, but it felt like her eyes were darker. It didn't matter though, there was important business to tend to. She let out a deep sigh, collecting herself before stepping out of her room.

Walking around the once abandoned monastery, Byleth greeted her former students and allies who were out for the day. She made her rounds, stopping by the gardens, the fishing pond, the dining hall. Checking in with her teammates about how they were all doing, if anyone needed anything, or if she could help them. She didn't mind, whether it was as small as a lost item or something bigger, she always wanted to put them first and help them. 

Finally she got to the upper levels. Rhea wasn't there anymore, so the audience chamber often felt wide and empty. Since not many tended to go there, Byleth sometimes liked to visit the room as a small midday escape. Someplace where she could just stop and collect herself before moving on. She glanced over at the room, but kept walking for now. There was one last person she wanted to check in with before then. 

Turning down the hallway she stopped before one of the closed doors, knocking lightly against it and waiting to be called in. Inside the room sat Seteth as his desk, working on some kind of diagram. He welcomed Byleth into the room for their regularly scheduled meeting. Since returning and seeing how much everything had changed since the battle of Garreg Mach, Byleth had felt some kind of comfort in meeting with Seteth to go over their plans. While everyone else had changed so much over the five years that she slept, he somehow seemed to stay constant and unchanging. This brought her comfort during those times when she felt she couldn’t understand anything around her. Sometimes she thought about maybe asking him for help with her emotions, but always talked herself out of it. Even if he was constant, unwavering, and comforting, she still needed to be strong for him too. 

Byleth entered the office, glancing around at the room before making her way to the seat across from his desk. Seteth’s office always seemed so orderly and tidy, but she could tell there was a kind of chaos in it when their larger battles were approaching. Besides his usual shelves of old books and relics, Byleth had noticed that Seteth recently had been starting to keep vases of flowers in his room. She wondered if he was getting into gardening. It was always something she found relaxing too, and the colorful flowers did seem to liven up the room. It would have looked nicer if he picked up some of the fallen petals around his desk, but he was clearly busy with other things. Maybe Seteth just didn’t know how to care for them properly. She wondered if maybe someone had given the flowers to him, but she tried not to dwell on it. She didn’t like thinking of that for some reason.

Seteth smiled warmly at Byleth as she took the seat in front of him. For some reason seeing him smile at her like that made her eyes sting. Maybe she should have taken that break before coming to meet with him. She hoped that she could hold it together and not let her tears fall in front of him. Trying to bury as much emotion as she could, Byleth simply blinked at him and nodded. 

“Ah, right…” Seteth’s smile dropped. “To business then.” He coughed lightly, clearing his throat before turning the diagram he was working on so Byleth could look at it. Byleth silently looked over the sheet of notes and battle plans, taking it all in. She got a little distracted, noticing how beautiful Seteth’s handwriting was. Byleth never really wrote much before, and honestly most of the handwriting skills that she  _ did _ have came from writing on the chalkboards during her lessons, as she had to write much more clearly so that everyone could actually read it. Before that, her writing was entirely messy and almost illegible to most people. But back to the battle plans. 

“I think it looks good.” Byleth spoke flatly. “Maybe if we had some troops come in from over here-” Byleth pointed on the paper, sharing her ideas with him. 

“Yes, we could catch them off guard while they are engaged with our main forces in the front.” Seteth spoke, almost finishing the sentence for her. “Good idea.” Byleth didn’t know why that simple compliment of her battle tactics hurt her so much. She blinked, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand as quickly as she could and hoped that Seteth wouldn’t notice. Luckily no tears fell this time. For the rest of their conversation she tried even harder to bury any emotions she was having deep within, the same way that she buried that jar of stars in her closet.

\------

While it was hard to get through, it was another successful meeting and plans were put into place for their next battle. Byleth wished with all of her being that she didn’t have to feel the way she was feeling right now. Her eyes were stinging as she closed the door to Seteth’s office behind her. These meetings used to be so calming, but suddenly they became so painful and hard for her to get through. Byleth looked around the hallway, happy that no one else seemed to be nearby for the moment. She didn’t know if she would be able to make it back to her room right now, but the audience room was right there and always so empty. 

Byleth walked as fast as she could without running and quickly made her way into the chamber, closing the large doors behind her. She walked up to the front of the room and stepped up onto the main standing. Alone in the large room with the sun flickering through the stained glass, Byleth heard the excruciating twinkling sound well from her, and the little “plink-plunks” of colorful stars landing on the floor in front of her. Even though the sun was shining brightly down on her, everything felt so dark.

Byleth swallowed deeply, imagining herself swallowing all of the emotions deep inside of her and pushing them away at the same time. After a time, she was able to gather herself as best as she could. She couldn’t let anyone know how much she was feeling though, and crawled around on the floor scooping up as many of those cursed little stars as she could. Somehow while everything else seemed to be getting darker, those stupid little stars always seemed to be glowing as bright as ever, with colors she felt she wasn’t seeing anywhere else anymore. There were too many to fit in her hands, so she stuffed them into the pockets of her jacket before rushing back to her room. 

She ran as fast as she could, finally slamming the door to her dorm behind her as she made it to her room. She sat right there on the floor, her back against the door, trying again to understand this all consuming thing called emotions. She didn’t understand any of this. She felt sad before. She cried when her father died, and while that was it’s own kind of painful, it wasn’t like this. She didn’t even feel  _ sad _ right now. She was… she wasn’t sure what she was feeling. Happy? Thankful? Why was she crying then? And why did it hurt so much every time? Do tears like this come with every emotion? That wouldn’t make sense. And why hadn’t she seen anyone else cry like this?

\------

Flayn had taken her dinner with Seteth in his office that night. The girl didn’t know why her father was suddenly keeping so many flowers around his office, especially since he always seemed to be wanting to be rid of them. After she finished her meal she took one of the vases, filled with beautiful blue flowers, and started braiding them into a little chain. Seteth didn’t seem to care what she did with them, and was happy that she was getting some enjoyment out of the dreadful things. He was just glad he was able to contain the coughing fit after his meeting with Byleth before Flayn came up. She didn’t need to see him like that. 

Byleth deciding to have those regular meetings with him was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. He knew that the two of them didn’t start off on the right foot back when she first joined the community of Garreg Mach, but he hoped that things between the two of them had gotten better. He knew at least from his perspective that he had taken quite a liking to the young woman, and he genuinely did enjoy those meetings. Despite the darker subject matter, they were usually deciding their next plan of attack for the war, he still liked getting to spend all of this time with her. He wasn’t so sure that she felt the same way though, as his smiles and warm gestures were often just met with blank stares.

“I’m going to head to bed. Have a good night, father!” Flayn’s voice chiming up pulled Seteth from his thoughts. 

“Right,” He spoke, not realizing how late it had gotten himself. “I hope you have sweet dreams, my little Cethleann.” He only dared to speak her true name like this when he knew for sure no one else was around. Seteth stood from his desk, stretching his back, before walking up beside his daughter and giving her a kiss on the forehead. 

Flayn skipped out of the office, holding tightly to the flower crown she had crafted. The wonderful blue color reminded her of the color her professor’s hair once was, so she wanted to give the crown to her as a gift. In the dark of the night, a small sparkle caught Flayn’s eye as it reflected the moonlight shining through the windows. She wasn’t sure what the little stars were- or where they came from for that matter, but they were oh so colorful and bright. She thought that they would make the perfect addition to the crown she was working on, and gathered up the few mysterious shards that littered the floor of the audience chamber.

\------

Their troops did a fantastic job following orders, former students and soldiers alike were spot on with the plans orchestrated by Byleth and Seteth, and the plan worked out perfectly catching the enemy troops off guard. Byleth looked around the now empty battlefield and sighed to herself, hoping that this war would all come to an end soon. She lagged behind the rest of her party as they made their way back to the monastery, finding the trek back harder than she remembered it before. For some reason she kept tripping over things, whether it was fallen branches or her own feet, things just kept getting in her way. She wondered if it had something to do with everything seeming to get darker. She thought there was some kind of connection to that feeling and her emotions, but maybe she was actually getting sick with something and didn’t realize it? She thought about asking Manuela for some healing magic when they got back. 

“Hello Professor!” Byleth was jumped at the sudden soft voice beside her, letting out a quiet gasp. “Oh, uh- I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to surprise you!” Flayn spoke up again beside her, the two of them falling behind as they stopped to speak. “You were looking kind of down after the battle so…” The girl reached into her pouch, pulling out the collection of flowers braided together in a circle, bright shining colorful stars beaded through them. “I made this for you! They made me think of you, and well, I was going to work on it some more but you were looking sad so… Professor?”

Byleth’s eyes seared with more emotions blended together than she realized a person could feel. Anger, sadness, fear, but still happiness and gratitude to the girl. Those cursed stars that made her eyes bleed with pain. She hated them. Byleth could almost barely see the flowers being held up to her, but those little stars were still so bright. But she was… happy? She didn’t understand this. She felt lost and confused and just wanted to ask someone for help. Her father? Sothis? Seteth? Anyone that could explain this mess to her. 

But,  _ fuck _ was it starting to hurt again. Byleth’s face twisted in pain as she glanced up from the flower crown to poor Flayn’s face, who looked absolutely terrified. Byleth wanted to apologize that she was seeing this, but her throat felt tight as she gasped for air. Her shaking hand tried to reach for the flower crown- she thought maybe if she put it on she could show Flayn that she wasn’t upset with her. But her body wasn’t listening to her mind anymore and as she tried to grasp it her hand gripped down with more force than she meant to, crushing some of the flowers. Flayn looked so scared. Byleth felt herself panicking. She reached forward again, holding onto Flayn’s arm as she knew they were coming. The stars with edges as sharp as tiny blades, taking the color and life from her body, crawled their way through her eyes and fell down her cheeks. She held tighter onto Flayn, feeling her body become uneasy under her own weight.

“Flayn. Help.” Byleth whispered, but inside it felt like she was screaming. It hurt so much and now Byleth felt scared and weak before another person. Flayn was frozen in place for only a moment, shocked at what she was witnessing. She dropped the ring of flowers to the ground, reaching forward to help steady her professor as she fell to her knees.

“H-... Help!!” Flayn screamed, catching the attention of the other students and faculty who had gotten farther ahead of them. She could only manage to look up at the others for a moment before her eyes returned to the professor falling apart in front of her. As she glanced up she saw Seteth dropping everything to run to their aid, and she was so,  _ so _ thankful that he did. He could surely help more than she could. 

Seteth dropped the Spear of Assal where he stood, and felt his heart pound in his chest as he ran back toward the two most important women in his life. He had only a moment to take in the scene but it gave him a good enough idea of what was going on. Crumpled blue flowers lay at their feet, sparkling stars intertwined with them, and falling from Byleth’s cheeks. Byleth seemed to be barely hanging on, gripping to Flayn as if her life depended on it as she struggled. Seteth gave his daughter a quick concerned glance, nodding to her that it would be okay. He then got down on a knee before Byleth. His white pants could be damned if he got mud on them, none of that mattered now. He carefully placed his hands on either side of Byleth’s cheeks, turning her face toward him. Her face was full of anguish as a mixture of glittering stars, blood, and tears fell from her eyes. 

“Byleth…” Seteth spoke in a calming manner even now. It was the first time Byleth heard him call her by her name, and she couldn’t help but smile. She smiled even though it hurt so much, even though she couldn’t see him at all. But she felt him there, and she knew it was his hands holding onto her. She tried to say something back to him, but could only let out a weak whimper of pain. “It hurts” was all she could muster up. The glittering sounds were getting so loud it was almost all she could hear anymore.

Seteth quickly jumped into action, pulling Byleth into his arms and lifting her up. It felt nice to not have to hold herself strong anymore. She could hear him bark orders to the others, but she couldn’t really understand any of it as she drifted in and out of consciousness. 

\------

When Byleth awoke next, she could barely tell where she was. Everything was so dark. It was like trying to fight a battle at night with only the dim clouded over moonlight to guide you. Trying to make sense of the shadows, and was able to tell at least that she was back at garreg mach. She was in a bed, and there was some kind of shape draped beside her. Right now even the lightest movements felt like she was swimming through this immense weight. Still she pushed herself to reach forward and touch the shape.

Seteth was jolted awake as he felt Byleth’s gentle touch on his head. “Byleth!” He cooed her name, taking her hand into his own. “How are you feeling?” He asked, all of his concern focused on her. He could deal with the scattered blue petals he left covering her bed later. Whatever pain he was going through from that could wait right now. The fear of losing another person that he loved could wait. For now he just had to know that she was okay. 

“Seteth?” Her voice was raspy and dry. “I can barely see you.” she finally admitted to how bad this whole situation had gotten. “I-I don’t know what’s happening.” Byleth’s voice shook as she finally allowed herself to open up to someone. “Why do they keep coming? Why does it-” she heard the twinkling sound before seeing the glowing star fall, which felt like she was staring directly into the sun with how bright it was in this darkness. “Why does it hurt so much?” Byleth asked, her lip quivering, and squeezing as tightly as she could to Seteth’s hand. 

“Byleth, how long has this been going on?” Seteth asked, staring in horror at the stars that kept flowing from her eyes. He couldn’t stand seeing her like this. This wasn’t right. It was so bad, how had no one noticed it until now? How long was she hiding her pain from everyone?

“I don’t…” Byleth sniffled, trying to wipe her face. “In my closet.” Byleth mumbled out. She didn’t know when exactly this started. Sometime after merging with Sothis. Sometime after she woke back up. Sometime after she started meeting with Seteth and spending more time with him. Sometime after realizing she held so many emotions inside herself that she didn’t understand. While Byleth wasn’t completely sure where in the monastery she was before, she knew now that they were in her room. Seteth must have opened the door to the dresser closet to check what she had said, because this glowing beam of light was all she could see. The glowing jar of where she had been collecting and hiding all of her stars. It was so colorful, she had almost forgotten what colors looked like at this point. 

“Byleth…” The shock in Seteth’s voice was plain to hear, even if Byleth couldn’t see his expression. The concern in his voice shot a jolt of pain through her, and she clenched her muscles, unable to hold any of the stars in at all anymore. 

“They won’t stop. S-Seteth… Please don’t leave.” Byleth tried to reach out to him in the direction that she last heard his voice. “I’m… scared.” She mumbled out. 

Seteth turned from the closet, taking Byleth’s hand back into his as soon as he saw her reach out. He took a seat on the side of the bed next to her. He ran his fingers across her pale green hair, sliding a stray strand behind her ear. He wasn’t sure if what she was feeling now was anywhere close to what he had been feeling these past few weeks, but at this point he had to try  _ something _ . Seteth, feeling himself shake with his own anxiety and worry, leaned forward and gently kissed Byleth. In that moment everything felt like it froze. The tears finally stopped. The twinkling sounds were gone. The pain that Seteth was constantly feeling in his own chest was lifted. He felt Byleth lean in and return this kiss, holding onto him as if he were going to vanish. He held onto her, one hand lifting her closer by the small of her back, the other resting against her cheek and wiping away the last remnants of tears. 

Suddenly all of the small glittering stars and scattered blue flower petals around the room began to lift, spinning around the two of them. Neither of them paid any attention to it, too focused on one another, only pulling away from the kiss for quick gasps of air before going back in. The hundreds and thousands of tiny stars began to vanish as the vision and color returned to Byleth. Seeing the world in such bright colors was like looking at a rainbow. She hadn’t seen colors like these in so long. She forgot how vibrantly green Seteth’s hair was. The stars weren’t the only color in her life anymore, but everything around her had that kind of magic glow now. The blue petals that swirled around the room slowly faded from existence as well, Seteth being cured of his own ailments by their love for one another.

“I’ve never seen you smile like that before,” Seteth finally spoke again, his own smile already making his cheeks sore. “I thought you didn’t feel the same.” He admitted.

“Seteth, I  _ love _ you. I always have.” She returned, finally coming to understand the strong emotions that didn’t make sense before. Byleth cried, and for the first time it felt  _ good. _ They were tears of happiness as her and Seteth embraced each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!! If you're looking for more Setleth, I have some updates coming soon on my other fic! I just got hit with the Hanahaki/Star Disease inspiration and had to get this out of my system


End file.
